Who Knew?

 Thanks to Daughter's obsession with skating, I've been watched  competitions on TV for years and years but I never knew how much you don't get to see that is going on in the arena.

 I had no idea they had an opening ceremony complete with the lighting of a torch. Paul Wylie and this lady, who is a mystery to me, climbed out the VW and set it ablaze to start the pre-competition extravaganza that featured about a million local skaters. Who knew?

I also never knew that the skaters got a big flashy spotlight intro before they get their 6 minute warm up. You never see that on TV.

 Gracie Gold got a giant standing O whenever she set foot on the ice. If you don't know her story, it's an all too familiar one. This sport is cruel to young bodies and is even harsher to girls who actually last long enough to develop grown up bodies. Gravity is not your friend.

 Johnny Weir and Tara Lapinski were right in front of us doing whatever they do for the camera. They sit there looking bored as all get out until they turn on the lights. I saw Tanith Belbin get her makeup done before she had the cameras in her face. It was all very un-glamorous.

 My favorite event was the setting up of the winner's podium. It took nine people and about 15 minutes to figure out how and where to roll out the carpet and set up the boxes in the right order. It was like watching the comedy part of a Cirque du Soleil show.

I've also never seen the medal ceremony. They always cut away to the local news after the last skater. I had no idea there was so much involved with it. Well, now I know. I'll never look at any of it the same way again.

Road Trip!

Guess where I am headed this morning?

Daughter is taking a caravan of skaters from her rink to cheer on Quinn and Lorraine and asked if I'd keep her company on the long drive. This senior level ice dancing couple trains at Daughter's rink along with.......

..Micheal Parsons and Caroline Greene who are also competing this weekend for a spot on the National Team that is going to Montreal for the World Championship in March.

I guess the Greensboro Colosseum will be my home for the weekend. 

I know I promised a soap giveaway on Sunday and it's already in my posting queue so I'm good to go.  I've got 30 big bars that will need a good home. I'll be back on Monday so you probably won't get a response back from me until then so use up your slivers....I'm counting on you!

I Hope You're Sitting Down When You Read This

 I've got some kitchen news that's going to make some of you swoon. We're putting the whole thing on hold for a while until we get some of the outdoor stuff cleared up and by that I mean......

 ....wood. This is year two of the big tree removal adventure and we really need to get more of those big trees cut up and stacked before it gets too hot and buggy. We can do the kitchen anytime but our window for being able to work outside is rapidly closing-strange as that may seem to some of you.

 It was a gorgeous day yesterday. 39 degrees and sunny is perfect for outside work. The Mister split and I hauled and stacked. We got one half of one the biggest trees done and it felt good to see the bare ground where it used to be.

In case you are wondering, that tree laying on the stacked wood is yet another fallen friend that The Mister has added to the sawing queue. It's never ending. We've got dead trees all over the place. At least it won't be hard to stack this one. The other trees are on the whole opposite side of the house and up the hill. It's a long haul. Tomorrow I'm getting out the tractor.

Big Needle Wednesday: On the Mend

Excuse me...but where is my kibble? I need more kibble..

Thank you for all the well wishes for Pup. She wants you to know she's feeling much better. I got a lot of questions about how a vet bill could be that much for a tummy ache but that included x-rays to look for a blockage, bloodwork, a hydration injection under her skin and a shot for nausea and vomiting. I had a Yorkie with pancreatitis in the past so I knew to be worried. Whatever it was, it all worked and we are grateful. It was a scary weekend. She's never really been that sick before. 

 I finished the Felici socks this weekend. Now I have two pairs in the gift box.

Up next are these two new sock yarns. I saw them on a German podcast and had to have them mailed all the way here from Germany. I am going to knit them side by side like I do stripes but I am using the two different balls to change it up a bit. Side by side knitting can get boring and I have to say I did not like knitting those Felici socks. Those stripes were no fun.

The man sock is heading down the foot but look at that ball of yarn. That's Hawthorne. I just finished a pair of Hawthorne man socks and the ball of leftover is almost that big. I'm worried. I wonder if I got a bad skein? I should have weighed it. It did look small when I wound it. Oh, well. I won't know until I run out.

 I am almost finished the bottom band of the Loftoten. Then it will be miles of plain brown up to the armholes. I'm actually kind of looking forward to it.

 And here's an old friend that hasn't been shown much love lately. It's my Tracery vest and I think her time has finally come. I haven't finished her because I am afraid of the arm steeks. I played around with the pattern to make her into a button up vest but then I lost confidence in my ability to make it work. Since I won't know until I finish, I heading up to the shoulders-four rows a night. I've got about 3 inches to go and then........oh, my. It's going to be scary.

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 I managed to get that top flower border started over the past week. I think I spent more time organizing my floss than I did stitching. I hate how fiddly the flowers are. You only do a few stitches in each color and then it's time to change. I hate searching through the colors to find what I need so I bagged up all the flower and stem colors so they are easier to find.

That's all I have for tiny needles because the sewing side of the sewing/soap room looks like this. I had to move all my spinning stash that was in the living area in there for the duration. It's a mess.

Yesterday was shifting day. We had to move everything out of the kitchen/dining area and put it into the living room area.  We also managed to take out the big pantry and empty out all the base cabinets. That was a job.

 What I was really looking forward to was pulling up all the old dirty plastic and replacing it with new. It was a yucky mess. I'm pretty sure that if you have to replace your plastic your remodel job has gone on too long.

The living area isn't actually too terrible. We filled boxes and boxes with stuff we are going to take to Goodwill today so everything fit into the nooks and crannies we have rather nicely. I even got my TV back but to tell you the truth I didn't miss it. The biggest fight The Mister and I have had in a long time was over the cable bill. I don't have a clue as to why we pay $260 a month for a thousand channels we never watch. I am pretty much all streaming, all the time anymore. The only time I watch the TV is if I am spinning and that's not happening for a while. I was tempted to drag out a wheel but.....no. It was a very rare occasion where common sense won

TGIM

Yes, that's Thank Goodness It's Monday. I had a HORRIBLE weekend thanks to Miss Pup here. To make a long story short she started having tummy troubles on Thursday which is not unusual but when it got worse on Friday we had to make a very expensive trip to the vet's on Saturday morning. $500 later I spent the weekend on the floor next to a sick little doggie ladling fluids in her every hour on the hour while feeling very guilty about those two chicken nuggets I fed her on Wednesday. Thankfully, she's fine today. Completely on the mend. It will take me a while, however, to recover.  

While on the floor I did get some stuff done while Pup was knocked out from the shot they gave her.  I got the ends woven in on Soldotna #2. 

Ta da..........she needs to be blocked but I think she looks great. I love those colors. 

 Another ta da goes to Mosi Hat #4.  I'm having a hard time not casting on #5 and I would have but........

......I saw this. It's the new Mosi sweater  that just came out. It's already in my queue. I just need to decide on the colors of Palette that match the colors in this one.  I'll even make a hat to match. Squee....

Before all the stuff literally hit the fan around here, I did get some soap in the mold on Friday. The poor loaf had to sit for a long time before I got around to cutting it. It's called Sunshine. I think I'm getting my mojo back. This one looks and smells great.

New Stuff

All that goat's milk soap I am making for a spring giveaway deserves a card to go with it. I found this goat stamp online and thought it would be perfect. Look at all those cute little goats I get to play with.

 I know, I know...I just showed off my new gouache set but when I saw this itty bitty set of an unusual watercolor/gouache hybrid I had to have it too.....

 ....and a new coloring book to go with it. This one is huge and it has lots of really, really nice designs on perforated paper that I can pop out and print. I love it.

 I was feeling guilty about my coloring book adventure. It seemed like a cop out for someone with an art degree so I forced myself into doing something original too. I bought a really nice compass and have been drawing mandalas.

They are fun to paint too but I have to admit that I really hate to draw anymore. I just like to paint.